I had never flown Qantas and was looking for routes to fly from Melbourne. There were a few options, including flying to Manila from Melbourne or flying to Bengaluru from Sydney. However, flying from Melbourne to Jakarta seemed more appropriate, as I could then fly Cathay Pacific Premium Economy & Economy cabin to India. So, I flew the Melbourne to Jakarta route, which was operated by a Qantas A330-200. For my travel from Delhi to Melbourne, I had flown Thai Airways A350.
Basics
- Airline: Qantas
- Aircraft: A330-200
- Flight Number: QF 39
- Route: Melbourne [MEL]-Jakarta [CGK]
- Departure Flight Time: 5:16 PM (Delayed by 2:15 Hours)
- Duration: 6 hr 33 min
- Cabin: Economy
- Layout: 2-4-2
- Frequent Flyer Program: British Airways Avios
- Miles Cost: 20750 Avios
- Taxes & Fees: ₹ 6900 [$80]
- Ticket Price: ₹ 30200 [$350]
- One Mile Value: ₹ 1.12 [1.30 Cents]
How did I Book a Qantas A330 Economy Cabin?
Qantas is part of the OneWorld Alliance, and multiple options exist to book a Qantas Award flight. For the MEL-CGK Route, the following options are there (Economy):
- American Airlines: 30000 AA Miles
- Alaska Airlines: 30000 Miles
- British Airways: 20750 Avios
- Finnair: 25000 Avios
- Qantas: 20300 Points
Since Avios is one of the easiest miles currencies to earn, I booked using British Airways. Also, Finnair doesn’t refund taxes on cancellations, so that was another reason I booked using British Airways.
How did I find the Award Availability?
The Seats.Aero and AwardTool are two award search tools. I found this particular flight using Seats.Aero.
Issues to Sort Out
I did not have much of an issue. However, my Qantas and Qatar Airways frequent flyer numbers started showing online, so I asked the attendant to keep my Qatar Airways membership number while checking in.
Checking In
If you arrive for Check-in at Melbourne Airport for the first time, you may get confused. The Check-in counters are on the 1st floor. The check-in for International flights is on T2. At the airport, I checked the counter number for check-in, and today, the check-in was from the counter “R”.
And there were just a few travellers who were only for economy check-in. Because of my OneWorld Sapphire status, I checked in at the Business Class counter.
Lounge Access
I went to Qantas Business Lounge for my flight from Melbourne T2. Even though the lounge is in the basement, the experience was pleasant except for the food. A separate review blog will be posted soon.
Qantas A330-200 Flight
Qantas A330-200 serves the MEL-CGK route. Flight QF39’s scheduled departure time was 15:10. However, a day before the date of travel, I received the text that the flight had been delayed and would now depart at 16:45. The actual departure time was 17:10. The captain told us that the flight had been delayed due to the aircraft’s late arrival from Delhi.
Boarding
Our boarding should have started at 16:15 but did not begin until 16:40. During this time, a traveller was frustrated and went to the staff to find out about the departure time.
The boarding process started at 16:40 for group 1 and 2 travellers. Even though I was travelling in an economy cabin, I was part of group 2 due to my OneWorld status. There were separate boarding lines.
Amenity Kit and More
There was no amenity kit, but we received a Pillow, Blanket, and 500 ML water bottle. Although the Pillow felt more like a cushion, it looked used. However, the Blanket was nice, as it was made from plastic bottles.
Qantas A330-200 Seats
Qantas has three seat configuration for its A330-200 aircraft:
- 28 Business and 243 Economy seats.
- 27 Business seats and 224 Economy seats.
- 26 Business seats and 208 Economy seats.
The Melbourne to Jakarta flight was operated by aircraft VH-EBR, which had 27 Business Class seats& 224 economy seats.
The seat was comfortable. The best part about A330 is that you get a 2-4-2 configuration. The seat pitch is around 31 inches, which is comfortable.
Qantas IFE
Qantas Airlines’ entertainment library is really good, but the screens are not good. You need to touch hard to select anything that may disturb the person in front of you.
You can find all the entertainment library online here. Apart from the not-so-good screen, the headsets didn’t feel premium.
Qantas WiFI
Qantas is offering free Wi-Fi on select flights and routes. My flight from Melbourne to Jakarta also had the WiFI enabled.
The internet speed was good. For most of the flight, internet access was available.
Meal
There was no printed menu. However, we had access to one vegetarian option. I had prebooked my meal online. The dinner was tasty and enough for the flight time.
The crew offered nuts, water, and drinks multiple times during the flight.
A few hours before landing, the crew also offered a refreshment. I chose to get the vegetable patties. They were tasty, but they felt more like McDonald’s McPuffs. Nonetheless, they were good.
Cabin Crew
Qantas Cabin Crew were really sweet and were helpful.
While boarding, the rude traveller uttered, “Shut up,” when the captain announced. One of the male cabin crew went straight to him and asked him, “What did you just say?” The matter didn’t get exaggerated. So, it was good to see the cabin crew being nice and also not being acceptable to rude behaviour.
Baggage
The baggage came on time. There was not much of a delay.
However, I was at the baggage belt even before the baggage started arriving. In my last two outings, I have not found any issues with immigration in Jakarta, and it is quick. So, you would be at the baggage belt even before your baggage arrives. So, you may have to wait a bit for baggage.
Will I fly Qantas next time?
Qantas gave me all Virgin Atlantic vibes. But Qantas appears to be a good airline trying to improve the traveller experience. Also, I really want to fly their A380. So, yes, considering my positive experience, I will fly Qantas again.
Upgrades are Coming to Qantas A330-200
From late 2025, you will get a 4K OLED 13.3″ entertainment touchscreen with Bluetooth audio connectivity on A330-200 on select routes in the economy cabin. Screens were one of the things I didn’t like about Qantas, and they are upgrading them.
Bottomline
The Qantas A330-200 economy cabin is good. The only downside is the screens, which they are in the process of upgrading. Apart from that, I don’t have any issues. However, Qantas has the Virgin Atlantic vibes.
